History

Pre-Jesus

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God has granted to the land of Jordan many special places. The north of the country can boast of the homeland of the Prophet Elijah, and in the northern and central regions they take pride in the fact that Christ performed many miracles there and preached in their towns. The south is also very proud that John the Baptist was martyred in “Mekawer” Castle, which is south of Madaba. In the Jordan River John baptized Jesus and there he met five of his disciples, including Peter. From here he set out preaching about the Kingdom of God, beginning the public part of his life.
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Moses

Upon Mount Nebo, God revealed Himself to Moses, as He had previously revealed Himself at Sinai, and Moses stood and looked over the Promised Land stretched out in front of him. He saw the Jordan River before him, descending from the heights of Mount Hermon into the depths of the Jordan valley.
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Joshua

After Moses passed away, Joshua, the son of Nun, crossed with the Israelites into the Promised Land.
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Elijah and Elisha

But soon after their entrance into the Holy Land the people turned from the worship of God and took to worshipping strange gods. God sent to them many prophets to bring them back to true belief in His oneness and observance of His commandments. One of the most famous prophets was Elijah, who lived during the time of the rule of King Ahab in Israel. Ahab and his wife oppressed Elijah, and when Elijah grew old, God inspired him to leave and settle in what is today Jordan. So he left with his appointed successor, Elisha, who carried on his spirit and message. When they arrived at the River Jordan, Elijah struck it with his cloak and parted the waters of the river. He and Elisha crossed the dry land, and as they were speaking together upon the other side of the river, a fiery chariot came and carried Elijah into the heavens. (2nd Kings: 2)
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John the Baptist

Again, hundreds of years passed and John the Baptist appeared at Bethany (Bayt ‘Anya) on the far side of the Jordan River (John 1:28 & John 10:40). He continued the path of faith and took the mesage from Moses – representative of the Holy Law – and from Elijah – representative of the prophets of the Old Testament (Luke 1:17). John was the last prophet in the manner of the Old Testament prophets and the first prophet of the New Testament. He called the people to repent in preparation for the arrival of Christ, the Redeemer, and began to baptize in the Jordan River and the surrounding springs. The baptism he administered was a symbol of repentance and belief in God. Fleeing the authorities because of his sermons, he made for Bethany beyond the Jordan. He would sleep and rest in a cave close to the springs of “Saphsaphas” (what is today known as the Valley of Kharrar). The Bible states that here people from Jerusalem, Judea and the surrounding regions of the Jordan flocked to John for baptism. Jesus visited John here.
Then the Jews in Jerusalem sent some of the Scribes and Pharisees to question John, and John said to them, “I am not the Messiah, I am only a voice crying out in the wilderness saying, ‘Follow the path of God and make firm His path.’” (John 1:24)
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THE REDISCOVERY

How it was lost?

The Baptism Site was a major Pilgrim Station from the days of John the Baptist. Even after he died, many of his students stayed in the area which was the birthplace of Christianity. Churches were built near the site, monks lived in caves, and pilgrims visited the site.
This tradition continued until around the 14th Century. With the power of the Crusaders vanquished, and Byzantine weakening, the site was neglected and the area returned under the control of local tribes. East of the Jordan was no longer a safe place to go, and with no guarantee of safety, pilgrimage to the site became less and less frequent, and then virtually stopped.
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The Madaba Map Discovery

A scholar from Jerusalem discovered the Madaba Map [in Madaba present day Jordan], in 1897. This map was a 6th century Mosaic depicting a map of the Middle East in the 6th Century. The discovery and subsequent analysis of the map led to a renewed interest about the exact location of the Baptism Site. Pilgrims started to return to the area east of the River Jordan hoping to find clues to the location of the site.
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The 20th Century

A local Bedouin, Shaykh Salih Yacoub recalls Christian pilgrims visiting the area in the 1920s (while the area was under Ottoman rule) and building a church.
World War I, the fall of the Ottoman Empire, World War II, and then the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict with wars in 1948, 1967 and 1973 made the Baptism Site a no-go area for most of the century.
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1994 Peace Treaty

The Baptism Site was a militarized zone, full of mines when Jordan and Israel signed their peace treaty in 1994. The treaty allowed for the de-mining of the area.
A Chance Meeting – The Prince and the Monk
While on a personal trip to Mount Nebo, HRH Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad met the archaeologist and monk Father Piccirillo, Father Piccirillo explained to HRH Prince Ghazi about the significance of the Baptism Site, and the possibility of looking for it now that the peace treaty had been signed. HRH Prince Ghazi arranged with the military for them to visit the site. On their visit, they found mosaic patterns and ruins of a church. It was enough for HRH Prince Ghazi to order further investigation. Soon after, an archaeological team was given access to the site, and following information gained from the local Bedouin tribes, many more archeological remains started being discovered: Pottery, mosaics, caves, and marble. Most of these were on a small hill known by the locals as ‘Elijah’s Hill’. When further digging was conducted here, the remains of three large pools of Roman period were found. A vast water system was found, and then the remains of a large monastery which was identified as a 5th century monastery built by a monk called Rhotorius.
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Finding Churches built in the memory of the baptism of Jesus

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On one site near the river Jordan, mosaic remains were found; then marble remains; then more remains. In total, the remains of five different churches, built at separate times, were found. Why were churches built on this spot in particular on five different occasions? Were these churches described in old documents? These questions among others needed a clear answer.
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The Bible clearly identifies the place where John the forerunner started his ministry. It is Bethany beyond Jordan. John came in the spirit and strength of Elijah, who ascended to Heaven east of the Jordan opposite Jericho. Jesus came to the place where John was baptising and was baptized by John. So, were these churches built at this particular location to mark this important event??
Pilgrims’ Accounts
Old pilgrims’ accounts show how closely their descriptions matched with what was discovered:
Theodosius (A.D 530) wrote “5 miles north of the Dead sea …In the place where the Lord was baptized there is a single pillar and on the pillar an iron cross has been fastened, there too is the church of St. John the Baptist, which the Emperor Anastasius built: this church is very lofty, being built above large chambers, on account of the Jordan when it overflows.” The remains of the piers over which the church was built was discovered.
Forty years later (A.D 570) Antoninus of Piacenze added: “By the side of the Jordan, where the Lord was baptized, at the place where the water returned to its bed, marble steps descend into the water.” Remains of the marble steps were found too.
A 100 years later Arculfus of France (A.D 670) gave important notes, saying: “……At the edge of the river is a small square church, built, as is said, on the spot where the garments of the Lord were taken care of at the time when He was baptized. This is raised, so as to be uninhabitable, on four stone vaults, standing above the waters which flow below.” We can see the two northern piers while only the foundations of the southern piers where discovered recently. Hence, in plan we have a huge cruciform baptismal pool, where pilgrims would descend through the marble steps and be baptized. In fact this is the only cruciform baptismal font on earth that used the river Jordan water for baptism.
Other important remains were also found at the site, we can now identify two basilicas, partly built on the remains of John the Baptist Church and uniquely designed being linked through marble steps to the east linking them with the monumental cruciform baptistery that used running water for baptism. Over which the mantle church was built.
Epiphanius (A.D 750-800) mentioned a huge church (the church of the trinity) being built at the bank of the river, a mile west of John the Baptist monastery (Elijah’s Hill) where he stayed overnight
After the destruction of the 4 churches mentioned above, a chapel was built on the remains of the northwestern pier. Abbot Daniel (A.D 1106-1107) wrote “The place where Christ was baptized is distant from the river Jordan as far as a man can throw a small stone. There is a little chapel with an altar. This marks the place where John the Forerunner baptized our Lord Jesus Christ.”

The succession of uniquely designed churches at the edge of the river then, is testimony to the forces of nature and to the determination of the believers to build unique memorials at the spot they believed Jesus was baptized. To our excitement, our questions were answered and the rediscovery was complete.